DREAM THEATER Brings 'Dramatic' World Tour To Close: '14 Months Later And It's A Wrap'

After playing 110 shows in 34 countries, progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER have brought their world tour in support of their latest album, "A Dramatic Turn Of Events", to a close. Guitarist John Petrucci, vocalist James LaBrie, drummer Mike Mangini and keyboardist Jordan Rudess have offered the following separate recaps of the trek.

LaBrie: "14 months later and it's a wrap. Can't help but think how true the following words describe who and what we were becoming, but against all odds, admirably managed to transcend: 'Divided we falter, united we conquer.'

"'A Dramatic Turn Of Events' was incredibly rewarding as a band, individually and last and definitely not least, musically. On tour we all upped our game and the band was better than ever. The band was more powerful, tight, soulful and spiritually renewed. I personally was reminded of who I once was as a singer and why I dreamt of doing this as a kid. The entire band each and every night displayed conviction and confidence that was palpable. The synergy and camaraderie was unprecedented, and the fans worldwide were always eager to comment with such positive praise. The unyielding support and faith from the fans has never been taken for granted. No words truly describe how grateful and honored we are to be recipients of such fortune and benevolence."

Rudess: "The last 14 months have taken us all around the world and it's been an amazing adventure! We have played in a lot of familiar places but also made new friends in countries that we had never been before!

"As a lot of you know, I like to go out whenever possible and explore the places we visit. Walking around Jakarta, Indonesia and San Jose, Costa Rica are still fresh on my mind!

"To me, the actual playing of the show is wonderful, but understanding who all of you are as people and experiencing the places you live is just as important!

"Thank you all for your incredible support.

"This last album and tour was so important for us because we had our latest family member, Mr. Mike Mangini, join us on drums. It was gratifying hearing everyone scream out his name every night and feel the overwhelming joy in your hearts that you have for DREAM THEATER!

"So now it is time to decompress from a whole lot of airplane travel and hotel rooms and get my studio chops going again and most importantly, reunite with my amazing girls at home, Danielle, Ariana and Kayla!

"I plan to create some new music on my own and then reunite with the boys for the next DREAM THEATER recording!

"I'm sure you will see me on YouTube/Twitter/Facebook, etc., and I know I will see all of you soon enough on the road again!"

Petrucci: "It does feel good to be home after such a busy tour and such a busy year, especially when I know that we were able to deliver the goods every night for all of you!

"Some of my favorite things about touring the world is getting to meet so many nice people who have the same love and passion for progressive music that we do.

"We've enjoyed many great meals, glasses of wine and late-night bus-ride storytelling sessions together as a band while on the road! It's especially been fun to have my wife Rena and three kids come out and join me a couple of times as well.

"I'll never forget our trip to Rome! Even had my son, Reny, worked for the band on our first European run. He had a blast!

"We have the most incredible crew on the planet, hands down. All of those guys worked tirelessly over the last 14 months to not only ensure that we presented a polished and professional DREAM THEATER show every night, but that all of us were comfortable, healthy, safe and ready to rock!

"I've received more complements on the live sound as well as the light and video presentation and I am so appreciative and thankful for all of the creativity, dedication and commitment our technicians have shown and shared with us each and every night.

"I'll certainly miss the rush of performing on stage for all of you and all of the awesome on-stage guitar rig soundcheck 'tweak time' as well! I'm such a tone addict. :) What I will not miss is being away from my beautiful family!

"'We each pay a fabulous price for our visions of paradise.' Said so well by Neil Peart, it really sums up the sacrifice all of us make to live out our dreams.

"I think what I will remember the most about this tour was how gracious and welcoming all of our fans were everywhere around the world as we introduced DREAM THEATER with our new drummer, Mike Mangini, each night, and all of the support and faith you showed us right from the beginning.

"Our fans are just amazing! Loud, loud, loud and full of enthusiasm! There were some memorable moments, for sure...The couple who dressed in full unicyclist garb stand out as well as those who held up score cards at one gig after we played the LNF unison. You guys are just hilarious!

"I'll always remember the smiles in the crowd, the hands in the air and the defeating chants of support that filled the venues. I met so many DREAM THEATER fans that have been to 10, 20, 30+ shows who told me that this was the best they've seen the band yet. That means so much to me!

"It was inspiring to meet people along the way who were eager to share how our music helped them through a difficult time or to deal with loss and tragedy. The healing power of music just blows me away. I'll will never forget those stories and want everyone to know that greater things are still to come!

"Thank you to my family, Rena, Sami, Reny and Kiki, for always being there for me and making this life possible.

"Thanks to everyone at Roadrunner Records, to our awesome manager Frank Solomon, our booking agents the great Steve Martin and Derek Kemp, our fearless tour manager Rikk Feulner, the-great-one Rob Shore and to our incredible team who works behind the scenes. Thank you to my amazing guitar tech Maddi for always having my back and most of all, thank you to everyone who came out to the shows and joined us for this crazy, awesome and 'Dramatic Tour Of Events'!"

Mangini: "The close of the 'Dramatic Tour Of Events' left me with thinking of one word; Wow! My memory of it is multilayered: from receiving the invitation to audition through my gear preparation for the record, the recording, all kinds of venues, and the fans' hands in the air during the tour. My overall feeling about it stems from one thing: the fans' acceptance of me from show #1 in Rome through the last show in Brasilia.

"I believe very strongly that the drummer audition documentary single-handedly communicated the entire band's true intentions that happen to perfectly match the fans' needs: for DREAM THEATER to continue to exist and to continue making music. Personally, I put everything on the table for all to see. Normally, I would not plan to be emotional in front of millions of people, but it was the truth. If I weren't writing this right now, I'd simply submit any picture of me behind the drums at any show and say 'just look at my face and you'll know how I feel.'

"Performing the shows as proficiently as possible was hard work. The challenge of performing each show so the songs sounded like the recordings was evident in my inner dialog while playing. I talked to myself all night, every night with phrases like, 'Here comes the five thing, then the short verse' in order to remember my way through the songs.

"A DREAM THEATER show is a mental challenge far beyond what I could have imagined, but because the music feels natural to me and because the whole band would communicate onstage so much, it provided the greatest joy of my career.

"Some different kinds of a challenges appeared. Managing a wrist injury meant I couldn't do extra signings or shake hands sometimes. Staying in touch with friends pretty much disappeared, but they all understood. Video calling technology was a huge help as it single-handedly allowed my family to not feel so far away.

"One of the surprises of the tour was the use of the time-signature tests done at the audition. Being around a group of musicians that could adapt so quickly as a unit meant that new ideas were pouring out of us at soundchecks and during warm ups for shows. Seeing the guys work around a riff, drum beat or a sung melody with such direction was very satisfying and helpful to me.

"Finally, I can't express my gratitude enough to any fan, anyone in the DREAM THEATER organization, any kind of fate, family and endorsement company support, friendships or anything that has to do with my ending up as the drummer in a band with four of the greatest human beings. One could not ever dream up working with better people on and off the stage. The entire DREAM THEATER organization is like this. I'm telling you this from first-hand experience after experience just continuing to be professional, pleasant and simply focused on our making more and more music that is interesting, melodic, and relentlessly DREAM THEATER. The intentions of the band are so good that it is no wonder that music just pours out of us the second we can get to our instruments, or good times occur each time an opportunity to eat dinner together arises no matter how tired we all are."